Literary Analysis Essay on Summer of 1787 by David O. Stewart

Section One: Book Summary

The Summer of 1787 is a book by lawyer and writer David O. Stewart. The non-fiction book describes the events that led to the formation of the constitution. It is a chronology of many famous figures from the period who came together to formulate a law that would satisfy their needs and those of the people they were representing. The book profiles some of the famous figures and the challenges they encountered while formulating the constitution. The issues of levels of government and slavery formed the areas of compromise for the people involved.

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The book has 21 chapters that cover the time between the first draft in 1785 to 1788 when the constitution officially came into effect. The focus of most of the book is on the constitutional convention. The delegates from thirteen original colonies had debates, setbacks, and disagreements, but non was more controversial than slavery. Slavery was a major issue because the north was against the practice while the Southern state economies were dependent on slavery (Stewart 71-72). The delegates from the Southern States threatened to leave on several occasions because of the issue of slavery. They used the threat of leaving the Union to arm-twist the other representatives into accepting slavery to continue in America. So the rest of the northern states had to compromise on the issue of slavery. But the slavery issue was more than just about freedom for the black community. The delegates were also concerned that the Southern states could use the population of slaves to their advantage and push for more representation in parliament. Abolitionists like Benjamin Franklin were concerned that the Southern colonies would include slaves in their census and that would warrant greater representation in Congress (Stewart 76-80).

The delegates wanted to make sure that the American constitution remains fluid. Benjamin Franklin openly stated that he was not in agreement with all parts of the composition, but it would not be possible to come with a structure that was any better. As a result, the delegates resolved to enable amendments. The amendments created room for constitutional changes to be done in case there was a part that needed correction or an addition (Stewart 224). There was also the battle of supremacy between state and federal power. The representatives from the other states wanted the states to have sovereignty, but the likes of George Washington were worried about that such a move might weaken the Union. On the other hand, granting the Federal too much power was risking authoritarian leadership. The delegates settled on the distribution of roles between states and the federal government.

Section Two: Still Discussing

Sadly, there are still issues that yet to be resolved even though the events described by Stewart happened over two centuries ago. One challenge during the constitutional convention was the topic of State Vs. Federal power. The delegates struggled to resolve the supreme authority between the States and the Federal government (Stewart 37). The commissioners agreed to allocate some responsibilities to the state and leave the others to the Federal government.

The balance of power between the states and the federal government has been fluctuating over the years. The constitution convention managed to balance the powers between the states and the federal government on specific roles. However, all that changed in the 1860s before the American Civil War. The functions of the federal government and the states further intertwined during the 1930s. As the Great Depression hit America, the Federal government stepped in to provide the much-needed aid in areas that were supposedly controlled by the states. The federal government continued accumulating power since then until a landmark ruling in 1995. In US vs. Lopez case, the Supreme Court ruled against the Federal government stating that they had overstepped their jurisdiction by banning guns from school grounds under the Commerce Clause (Khan Academy par.20).

There are still flaws that exist between the State and Federal power despite the compromise by the delegates during the convention. The US constitution has some overlaps in regards to the federal and state responsibilities. Khan Academy defines federalism as a system of shared governance between a state and the national government(par. 1). That means that in federalist countries such as the United States the states also get to have a say in some matters. However, some situations create areas of conflict because of the state and federal laws. For example, in recent times there are some State laws that have contradicted federal law.

In 2012, the States of Colorado and California legalized general use of marijuana. The ascent of those laws was in contradiction of Federal laws which classified marijuana as a controlled substance. The state laws only apply to the residents of the state while the federal rules apply to all residents of the nation regardless of the state that they are residents. According to Daunt from the Huffington Post, if the State laws contradict the Federal laws, then the State law becomes null and void(par. 4). The contradiction between State and Federal law is covered under article VI of the constitution that places the Federal above the state. However, there is yet to be a settlement on the debate because the states passed some of those laws fully aware of the federal government's stance on the issue.

A person can smoke marijuana whether it's for medical use or recreational use provided they are within the state that allows the recreational use of marijuana. However, if the federal agents find a person selling or using the drug, they have a right to arrest him or her. It is similar to the case of a father allowing the child to do something that the mother is against provided the mother doesn't find out. If the mother finds out, then only the child is trouble. The father that allowed it gets to walk scot free. But the child gets punished because they took part in something that the father allowed but the mother refused.

It is a confusing scenario, and the government has yet to come up with a way to deal with the disparity. Think of the case of Gerald Duval whose Michigan state allows the farming of marijuana for medical use. However, when the federal agents came and found him farming hemp, he was arrested and prosecuted in a federal court using evidence from a state-court issued warrant which was invalid under the state laws (Peacock par.2).

Section Three: Conclusion

The distribution of powers between states and the federal government was among the main points of argument during the constitutional convention. At the end of the process, the leaders settled for an uneasy balance between the state and the federal government. The delegates agreed to distribute roles between the national government and the local government. The problem is the issues that they failed to address such as slavery came back to haunt the country and created a conflict between state and federal government. The Civil War caused an intertwinement of roles as both levels of government struggled for supremacy. The situation became worse during the financial crisis and briefly settled by the Supreme Court ruling of 1995.

There is a need for clearly defined boundaries for the state and federal levels of government. I think the best solution would be to limit federal activities to the issues that affect people on the national level. Also, there should be representatives of the national government on the state level so that the two levels can cooperate before passing legislation.

Works Cited

Daunt, Lesley. State vs. Federal Law: Who Really Holds the Trump Card? 30 March 2014. Internet. 13 December 2018. <https://www.huffingtonpost.com/lesley-daunt/state-vs-federal-law-who-_b_4676579.html>.

Khan Academy. The relationship between the states and the federal government. 2018. Internet. 13 December 2018. <https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-us-government-and-politics/foundations-of-american-democracy/relationship-between-states-and-the-federal-government/a/relationship-between-the-states-and-the-federal-government-article>.

Peacock, William. The Curious Marijuana Case of USA v. Gerald and Jeremy Duval. 28 January 2014. Internet. 13 December 2018. <https://blogs.findlaw.com/sixth_circuit/2014/01/the-curious-marijuana-case-of-usa-v-gerald-and-jeremy-duval.html>.

Stewart, David O. The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented the Constitution. New York. NY: Simon & Schuster Inc, 2007. Print.